The Montana softball team opened the CSUN Champions Classic on Friday with a 9-1, six-inning loss to the host Matadors before bouncing back with a 4-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson to snap a three-game losing streak.
 
In between Montana’s two games, Fairleigh Dickson defeated CSU Northridge 4-3 in nine innings, leaving all three teams with a 1-1 record on the day.
 
Presley Jantzi put the Grizzlies (4-13) ahead in their opener, her solo home run in the top of the first against CSU Northridge giving Montana a 1-0 lead.
 
It was her second home run of the season, the sixth of her career.
 
The Matadors would be relentless in their reply, scoring in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to pull away against starter Cameryn Ortega and Grace Hardy in relief.
 
Montana’s only other hit came in the top of the fifth, when Kynzie Mohl hit a pinch-hit double to the fence in left-center in her first at-bat of the season.
 
CSUN scored nine runs on 10 hits, walking it off in the bottom of the sixth on a single up the middle.
 
After losing their third straight run-rule decision, the Grizzlies responded with a solid win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
 
Montana only had four hits against the Knights, but the Grizzlies were excellent at taking a little and turning it into a lot.
 
In the bottom of the first, Anna Cockhill drew a lead-off walk, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out, then scored on a ground out, Montana generating a run without recording a hit.
 
“I felt like our second game today was our most complete game that we’ve played all year,” said first-year coach Stef Ewing. “We had a ton of quality at-bats.
 
“We did a great job of hitting the ball on the ground, putting it in play and having productive outs.”
 
Montana went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third, once again Cockhill serving as spark plug, drawing a one-out walk, stealing second, then scoring on a single up the middle by Jantzi.
 
Through three innings, Montana had one hit but a 2-0 lead.
 
“The vibe was different in Game 2. We talked about some things between games and the kids played a lot more relaxed,” said Ewing.
 
“We had a lot of people who owned their moment. I was happy with who we were in Game 2. It was a great way to flip the page from Game 1.”
 
Montana took a 4-0 lead in the fifth after a lead-off error by the Knights extended the inning.
 
Instead of Cockhill and Jantzi doing the damage, it was the bottom of the order, Makena Strong hitting a two-out RBI double to left-center and Jessica Stanfield following with an RBI single to right.
 
“Really glad to see some other people in the lineup do some things to take some pressure off of the top of the lineup,” said Ewing.
 
Those runs gave Montana a 4-0 lead because of an effective outing by Brianna Lachermeier, who made her second start of the season.
 
She allowed just one hit through five innings and got two quick outs to start the sixth before giving up back-to-back singles, the end of her day.
 
Another single loaded the bases. That was followed by an RBI single that made it 4-1, the bases still loaded. Ewing signaled for Ortega, who threw 4 2/3 innings and took the loss in Friday’s opener.
 
She gave up a walk to make it 4-2 before ending the threat with a fly out to center.
 
Ortega gave up a one-out single in the top of the seventh, bringing the potential tying run to the plate. The game ended on a double play, a fly out to left, with the runner at first getting doubled up.
 
Lachermeier allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings, throwing 78 pitches. The outing dropped her season ERA from 9.55 to 7.57. Ortega collected her first collegiate save.
 
“Bri has just progressively been throwing it better and better,” said Ewing. “She is finally getting over her sickness, so she was able to go longer.
 
“She just wanted the ball. That’s what we’re looking for, people owning their moment. We just said to go out there and have some fun and be light. She took the ball and ran with it.”
 
A schedule change will now have Montana playing twice on Saturday instead of once, against CSUN at 10 a.m. (MT), then against Fairleigh Dickinson in the day’s third game in mid-afternoon.
 
The Grizzlies will face the Knights once on Sunday instead of twice, at 10 a.m. (MT).
 
“The challenge I brought to the team is, now we need to find a way to take the vibe we had in Game 2 and be able to be that team tomorrow, because we know we’re capable of it,” said Ewing.